He had already included three
teenagers with minimal first-team experience among his replacements. Of
course, he could have added the name of any number of academy
undergraduates but he is seasoned enough to know exactly what he was
doing.

He is too canny to hold a proverbial
gun to the head of his paymasters, but the point was made as well as
taken in the Black Country.

'Look at how many players we were
missing,' he said. 'Yossi Benayoun, Andy Carroll, Ricardo Vaz Te, Jack
Collison, Mo Diame, George McCartney - it's seven if you include Alou
Diarra, who we haven't seen all season because he has torn a thigh
muscle.

'They are mainly players who, in
possession, can create lots of problems. We had a good day but not as
good as it could have been because of the injuries.

'So I'm really relieved that we have
got a point. I thought the rest of the lads coped really well
because, as a manager, you are always worried as to whether your team
are going to be able or capable of holding out.'

It appears at least half of the
injuries are long-term and, asked whether he was directly appealing for
help from West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold, Allardyce said:
'If I get them all fit then no, I won't need any. But I'm never going
to turn down the chance of signing one player, am I? Or two for that
matter.

'But the main priority is to get our
players back. However, the situation concerns me. Six is far too many
for us and I'm not sure how long we will cope if we have all of them
out that long.'

If the Hammers' game plan was to
frustrate West Brom, then Allardyce can be well pleased with their
efforts. Albion manager Steve Clarke declared himself happy enough with a
draw that at least ended a run of three straight defeats.

Following a dreadful first half,
which contained little of note apart from Winston Reid poking over from
close range after Carlton Cole had headed Matt Jarvis's corner into his
path, the game moved up a notch after the break.

High flying: Steve Clarke's West Brom have performed well this season

Tracking: Shane Long tries to escape the attention of Noble

James Morrison, moved further forward
by Clarke in the second period, was unfortunate to see his shot bounce
off the woodwork after Zoltan Gera had done well to retrieve Chris
Brunt's over-hit corner.

West Ham midfielder Gary O'Neil
curled an effort around the post, but Morrison crashed a header from
another Brunt corner into the same spot on the woodwork.

Clarke's side, who have been beaten
just twice at home this season, made most of the running but their best
chances came from set pieces.

Waiting for action: Sam Allardyce (left) oversaw a very tight first half in which neither side made many openings

Bored? This West Ham fan made his own fun by
wearing a Santa beard, while he found a rival in this West Brom fan
(right), who decided to wear a less seasonal piece of headwear

There was little to shout about in
open play. Morrison's efforts, allied to O'Neil's shot that shaved the
upright, was as good as it got, though both also had long-range shots
beaten clear.

'We didn't quite do enough to get
the three points,' said Clarke. 'As the home team, the onus is on us
but nothing really fell our way.

'We spoke about keeping a clean sheet
before the game, we haven't had one for a while. 'It's stopped the run
of defeats. That's a positive.'

After around a minute of his
post-match interview, Clarke said: 'There aren't many questions on that
game, are there?' Point taken, gladly, it would seem, all round.